DIGHIR Ganguly Foundation
The Dighir Ganguly Foundation is a charitable trust and carries out programs on education and health are for some of the poorest communities in Sundarbans. They operate and facilitate schools and clinics in remote villages in the area.
In addition, they also work on providing relief during disasters and the conservation of the Sunderbans' extensive mangroves.
Sundarbans, a mangrove area in West Bengal located at the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers, faces many climate change impacts. Communities are constantly fighting rising sea-levels, increased water salinity and frequent, persistent flooding.
This poses a direct threat to the lives and livelihoods of the resident population. A large number of people (mostly men) from the Sundarbans have already left in search of greener pastures.
The Dighir Ganguly Foundation works with the Munda community in the Sundarbans to construct specially designed structures that are resistant to the disasters in the area. The Foundation’s core area of work involves drawing on the traditional architecture of the area to build hospitals and schools.
The Foundation also works on building shelters across Sundarbans, which function as safe spaces during disasters. These shelters are otherwise used as training centres, schools, and hospitals.
Since the Munda people usually converse in their own dialect, the organisation has developed a training module to expand the beneficiaries’ language skills so that they can interact with tourists and visitors. These skills have also helped the Munda people communicate their problems to the Foundation, enabling them to collectively formulate solutions.
Nainita Singh’s main source of income is trawling fish. However, this is not enough to support her and her children. When the river floods, she is forced to seek a shelter, interrupting her livelihood. Through her association with the Foundation, she hopes to access more secure avenues of income generation.